Staying ahead as a leader: learning from failure

"Behind every epic move, are epic fails," Voorhoeve starts the breakout, after which he encourages the attendees to share their own failures with their neighbours. Soon after, the room erupts in a lively buzz, with people eager to share their own stories.

"It's surprising we share our failures here, when in regular society, we don't," Voorhoeve notes. A shame, as these kinds of conversations can help you grow as a leader. "I think we're not investing enough in development. What are my skillsets and where can I still improve? The key thing to understand this is to talk to each other. Connect with other C-level people. My vision is that we need to invest in tech leaders and in our own community to become better tech leaders."

What makes a high performing tech leader?

The essence of digital leadership lies in long-term vision, especially in today's rapidly evolving landscape, Voorhoeve thinks. To help understand what makes an effective leader, he developed the Digital Competency Model for CIOs. According to that model, effective leadership – or high-performance organization (HPO) leadership – hinges on four core dimensions: strategy, organization, skills, and culture.

"Knowing where you stand and what your capabilities are, is important," states Voorhoeve. According to the model and accompanying research, if you want success in creating growth, you need to invest in design thinking, which is much higher on HPO leaders than low-performance organization leaders. The same applies to growth mindset, wise decision-making, and customer centricity.

Research comparing high-performance organization leaders with their counterparts also reveals they consistently demonstrate stronger big-picture thinking and excel at delivering business value where it matters most. They function as more competent strategists within strategically coherent organizations and display notably higher business acumen.

Additionally, these leaders cultivate organizational agility more effectively and express less frustration with low momentum. The digital transformation journey increasingly demands product-focused leadership, particularly as companies build complex platform ecosystems. "You're building platforms, that's a different kind of animal. So, you need product people, which requires different skills," Voorhoeve explains.

By: Eveline Meijer